How do I create binary patches?

Mike picture Mike · Dec 22, 2009 · Viewed 67.3k times · Source

What's the best way to go about making a patch for a binary file? I want it to be simple for users to apply(a simple patch application would be nice). Running diff on the file just gives Binary files [...] differ

Answer

Heinzi picture Heinzi · Dec 22, 2009

Check out bsdiff and bspatch (website, manpage, paper, GitHub fork).

To install this tool:

  • Windows: Download and extract this package. You will also need a copy of bzip2.exe in PATH; download that from the "Binaries" link here.
  • macOS: Install Homebrew and use it to install bsdiff.
  • Linux: Use your package manager to install bsdiff.